Alcohol Abuse among College Students and Programs to prevent it Research Paper

Alcohol Abuse among College Students and Programs to prevent it - Research Paper Example A research conducted by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) revealed that alcohol related deaths among college students has been on the rise in the United States (Reinberg). This implies that underage drinking is seriously affecting the country mainly because of premature deaths. Alcohol has its health problems but heavy drinkers have a higher probability of engaging in other risky behaviors such as drank driving and engaging in unprotected sex among others (Hanson). All new undertakings are exciting and this is the reason why college students are faced with challenging environments as they start living away from home. It is worth noting that college students have very many challenges because most of them are living away from home for the first time. College students suddenly realize that they have become their own masters because their parents’ vigilance is no longer there. After they realize that they are independent, most of them are tempted to test t he things, which they have never done. Moreover, the pressures associated with college education drives many students into engaging in alcohol and other drug abuse (Labrie, Pedersen, & Tawalbeh 25). 2.0 Alcohol Abuse among College Students According to Reinberg, it has been established that in excess of thirty percent of Americans have had problems with alcohol at a certain stage of their lives. 17.8% have abused alcohol while 12.5% are alcohol dependent. Alcohol abuse leads to daily living problems, financial problems and interpersonal problems that are caused by excessive drinking. It has been established that majority of the people start to drink when they are very young. Although the government has put in place measures to control underage drinking it has been very hard to implement it because of technological advances, which enable underage people to buy alcohol via the internet. Those who sell alcoholic beverages via the internet should come up with ways of establishing the ag es of their customers (Labrie, Pedersen, & Tawalbeh 25). Studies have established that higher education drinkers are heavy drinkers and they are supposed to be responsible. Despite the measures that the government has taken to reduce college drinking, studies have established that annually, more than one thousand and four hundred college students die from alcohol related events, which are mainly associated with road accidents. Researchers have established that around two million students in college drive under alcohol’s influence occasionally and in addition, about three million of them ride with colleagues who are under the influence. This is the leading cause of deaths among young people in the United States because they do not care about what happens when they are drank (Monahan et al 290). 2.1 The Role of Parents in the Care of Their Children Parents have a leading role to play when it comes to reducing binge drinking among their children. This can be attributed to the fa ct that parents are the best people who are in a position to understand their children’s behaviors. Heavy episodic drinking is a problem that is common across the world. Although it varies from one place another, it is important to acknowledge that it